Paper.



o- 860,697. PATENTED JULY 23, 1907. T. SGHER F.

PAPER.

APPLICATION rman NOV. 19. 1906.

2 SHEET8-SHEET 1- .per for the manufacture of artificial or imitation leather 'usrrnn s rapes Reruns ca sson v THEODORE SCEEBF, OF ENGLEWOGD. NEW JERSEY.

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Specification of Letters lPa'tent.

Patented July 23,1907.

Application filed November 19,1906. #Bsrial No. 343,981-

To all whom it may cimceiw:

Be it known that I, Tnnononn Scssnr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Englewodd, in the county oi Bergen-and State of New Jersey, have invented cernew and useful Improvements in Paper, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to I the drawings accompanying andlorming part of the 1 same.

.In numerous uses to which paper is put it is desirable that the paper be as pliable or soft as possible, consistcut with the strength necessary for the given purpose. For example, a paper bag should be made of paper possessing a considerable degree of softness or pliability.

Made oi such paper the bag conforms more closely to its contents, thereby distributing the weight or pressure of the contentsmore evenly, and its mouth is more easily gathered or folded by the hand andcan be more securely closed, as is particularly desirable where thecontents of the bag are of a powdered or granular char- "acter. Paper to be wrapped around electrical conductors or other parts of electrical apparatus for the purpose of insulating the same should also be softand pliable. Such paper conforms more closely to the contour 'of the object'to be covered, and the-work ofvnapping orcovering'can be done more easily and rapidly. Pa-

should alsobe oi the same soft and pliable character ing or tearing under the pressure of the embossing (lies.

to produce the most effective imitation of the natural article, bothfor the desired flexibility and to permit the production of embossed patterns without crack- Numerous otheruses might be mentioned where paper of the character described is desirable, but those mentioned are sufficient to show its wide and diversified field oi utility. Practically all the papers pomess the tensile strength necessary for their manifold now made, however, which uses, possess also an undesirable degree of stiffness,

I which does not permit them to bend easily and frequently causes them to form hard creases or folds when bent on an arc oi short radius, or to become creased or wrinkled in handling, Thislack of pliability is a serious drawback for many purposes for which the paper is used, as already pointed out, and efforts have therec ifore been made, with more or less success, to provide "paper which shall possess the desired degree oisoitness -which shall also have'suriace ribs or orpliability and alsothe necessary strength.

My present invention has for its, chiei objectto providepaper having these much desired characteristics and a further object of the invention is to provide paper, r ge on}? q both'cf its surfaces. Y For producing paper of such character I prefer-to multilayer paper, that is, paper composed ofa 'ltwiobr more films or layers; This paper is throughlsuit-f able mechanism which has-the efiectoi softening'tlie' sizing and the fibers oi thepaper and at the same time loosening or separating portions of the component films.

or layers from each other. Paper so treated will, on being bent more or less sharply, show bulges or blisters on the inner surface of the bend. The paperhaving its A simple and convenient apparatus for producing" paper of this character is illustrated, somewhat diagrammatically, in the annexeddrawing. Therein Figure 1 shows the apparatus in vertical longitudinal v section, and shows also a web or sheet of paper in course of treatment; Fig. 2 is a sectional perspective view, on

an exaggerated scale, of a sheet of multilayer paper bent on an arc of short radiuspshowing the separation of the layers and the bulging or blistering produced by the bending. Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view, on an exaggerated scale, showing the operation of a 'ribbing'ba'r in producing a rib or told. Fig. 4' is a sectional view, on a much exaggerated scale, showing the-nature oi the ribs or folds. Figs, 5 andfi are plan views showing the appearance of paper having surface ribs or ridges, the

ribs in the first figure runningsubstantially in the-same direction and those in the second figure crossing each other. 1 Referring now more particularly to Fig. l, A, A" are "rotating, bladed kneading rolls, the bladesoi which intermesh and are preferably longitudinal of the axes of the rolls. B 'indicatcsaweb or sheet of paper engaged by the rolls, and it will be seen that the effect of the blades isto bend the paper more or'l'ess sharply over their edges, first in one direction and then in the other.

The natural result of such action would be to leave the;

paper in a corrugated or crimped condition, but such a result is prevented by causing the paper to pass through the rolls. at a higher rate of speed than that at which it would travel if carried forward by the rolls themselves. Any convenient means may be provided for causingv the paper to travel iaster than the feed of the rolls, such asfliorexampla the mechanism shown inany co-pendin application, Serial No. 322,481, in

- which, an apparatus, of the general character herein brieiiyoutlinedisdescribedandclaiuied broadly. The

resu t of causingthe paper totravel faster than the peripheral speed of the rolls thatithe paper is'not only bentovterj the blades iii-succession, but is also drawn firmly over their edges. This slip of the paper relative to the blades-causes the line of fold over the edge of the liladeFQiBo ye slowly backward-until the blade is by the rotation of the roll carried out of contact with the paper. In the meantime the paper is engaged by succeeding blades of the roll and the action just described is repeated on each blade, so that very portion of the pa per is subjected to one or more kneading or breaking and drawing actions and is thereby reduced to a soft and pliable condition.

As previously stated, some papers, particularly the heavier kinds, are formed of two or more layers or films united, usually in the wet state. Thus united the several layers form a single, firm sheet of paper. The action of the kneading rolls on such paper is not only to render the paper soft and pliable in the manner described, but also to loosen the layers from each other at numerous points, leaving them adhering at intermediate points. This result can readily be observed by bending the paper, causing the separated portions of the layer onthe inside of the bend to bulge out and form blister-like protuberances, shown at C, 2. This loosening of the layers composing the sheet can be utilized to good advantage for making ribs or ridges on one or both surfaces of the paper. To produce the desired ribs the paper is drawn in contact with one or more bars or similar devices, as shown in Fig. 1, in which iour bar s,-indicated by D, E, F, G, are shown, with'the paper in contact therewith. The effect of the bars, the action of a single bar being shown at H, in Fig. 3, is to form the blisters or bulges previously described and to fold the same firmly on the body of the paper, producing ribs or folds like those shown at I in Fig. 4. The ribs or folds aregenerally of various lengths, according tot-he size of the blisters from which they are produced. 11 the bars producing the folds are substantially parallel with each other .the folds will run 'more or less in the same general direction, determined by the angle which the bars make with the path of the paper. Thus, if the bars are at right angles to the paper as it is drawn over them, the ribs will run approximately at right angles to the length 01' the paper,

as shown in Fig. 5, i one bar is arranged at an angle to the direction of movement of the paper, and another bar at an angle to the. tB-st, the two will produce two sets of ribs, crossing each other, as will be readily understood, thus giving an effect like that shown in Fig. 6.

'111 general, paper treated as'above described will be found to be singularly soft and pliable, with the stiffness and slight springiness or resiliency, due to the sizing, entirely eradicated; although the strength or the paper, which is due in large measure to the sizing, is not materially impaired, if at all. All kinds oi paper,

sooner issuing from the kneading rolls, will be found to have the rib is-in no sense the outer wall of a cell, pocket, or

blister. The ribbed paper is not corrugated in the proper sense oi the term, as would be the case if the paper were not drawn positively over the blades of the kneading rolls. Before the rib-folds are produced the paper can scarcely be distinguished in appearance from the same grade and kind of paper unsoftened.

While in respect to its limpness and pliability the paper resembles unsized paper, the chief characteristic imparted by the sizing, namely, strgr gth, is not impaired to any appreciable degree; while the nonabsorptive properties oi'the paper, also due to the sizing, are not materially impaired, that is, the paper does not act like blotting'paper.

As previously pointed out, my softened paper has marked utility for many purposes, among which may be mentioned the manufacture of paper bagsand similar receptacles; imitation leather for book-bindings,

box-coverings, and other uses to which such product is commonly employed; for insulation purposes, as a wrapping for conductors and other parts of electrical apparatus. For thelatter purpose the ribbed paper is particularly advantageous, as the ribs prevent the paper being wrapped solid and produce numerous interstices or air-spaces in the wrapping, thereby increasing its'insulating properties.

What I claim is: i 1

. 1. As' a new article of'manufac'ture, sizedmultllayer paper rendered soft and pliable, the stilfness due to the si ting being substantially eradicated, having portions of its component layers loosened from one another, and devoid of air cells or'pockets as set forth.

2. As a new article of manufacture, slzedmultilayer paper rendered soft and pliable, the stiliness due to sizing being substantially eradicated, and having portions of its component layers loosened from one another and folded into solid ribs or ridges, as set forth.

, THEODORE 'SCHERF.

Witnesses )I. Lawson: Drnn, Essences S. IJ'UNHAM. 

